Baltic States, Poland signed energy security memorandum

The memorandum of understanding, initiated by the Estonian Ministry of Climate and approved by the government, was signed on Monday during the meeting of the EU Energy Council in Luxembourg.

«We are signing this memorandum primarily to strengthen the protection and resilience of critical energy infrastructure in the Baltic states and Poland. An incident or vulnerability in one country would have a significant impact on the entire region, as demonstrated by the recent Estlink 2 case. That's why it is crucial that our countries take a harmonized approach to incident prevention, response, and recovery,» Estonia's Minister of Energy and the Environment Andres Sutt said.

The memorandum outlines key areas of cooperation, such as information sharing, joint exercises, and exchange of best practices.

In addition to the Ministry of Climate, the memorandum of understanding also involves the Estonian Foreign Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Defense Ministry, and their counterpart agencies in Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.

According to the minister, the memorandum lists the key actions and strategies of the four countries for the next ten years, but also provides reassurance that we will be able to ensure the reliability of energy infrastructure in times of crisis.

«The opportunities for Estonian companies to engage in development are no less important, as faster processes to repair infrastructure circuits and restore interconnections will keep the economy more stable,» he said.

The Ministry of Climate proposed the memorandum to Lithuania in February this year, and all parties have now reached a common understanding. The memorandum was examined by the Estonian government at its meeting on June 12.